High-performance near-field electroluminescent refrigeration device consisting of a GaAs light emitting diode and a Si photovoltaic cell

Abstract

We consider a near-field electroluminescent refrigeration device. The device uses a GaAs light emitting diode as the cold side, and a Si photovoltaic cell as the hot side. The two sides are brought in close proximity to each other across a vacuum gap. The cooling is achieved by applying a positive bias on the GaAs light emitting diode. We show that the choice of GaAs and Si here can suppress the non-idealities for electroluminescent cooling purposes: GaAs has a wide bandgap with low Auger recombination, and Si is a non-polar semiconductor which leads to significantly reduced sub-bandgap heat transfer. We show that by using this configuration in the near-field regime, the cooling power density can reach 10 5 W=m 2 even in the presence of realistic Auger recombination and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. In addition, with photovoltaic power recovery from the Si cell, the efficiency of the device can be further improved. Our work points to the significant potential of combining near-field heat transfer with active semiconductor devices for the control of heat flow.

Near-field refrigeration and tunable heat exchange through four-wave mixing

“…Our theoretical analysis is based on a coupled-mode theory framework, [22][23][24] previously exploited to analyze heat transfer in linear media [25][26][27] and more recently generalized to consider a broad class of weakly nonlinear resonant processes 28,29 , that provides general operating conditions and quantitative predictions while allowing us to avoid otherwise cumbersome calculations based on nonlinear fluctuational electrodynamics. 17 Finally, we note that our predictions extend recent work in the area of non-contact refrigeration 12,30,31 and dynamically tunable heat exchange, 13,32 and has analogies with more established thermoelectric cooling schemes. 33 Thermal refrigeration.-We first consider the planar system shown in Fig.…”

Broadening Near-Field Emission for Performance Enhancement in Thermophotovoltaics

“…Regarding non-radiative processes in InAs, the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) and Auger non-radiative mechanisms are dominant, which constitute the first and second terms, respectively, in [32]:…”

Comment on “High-performance near-field electroluminescent refrigeration device consisting of a GaAs light emitting diode and a Si photovoltaic cell” [J. Appl. Phys. 122, 143104 (2017)]

“…1 We would like to comment on some critical points about electroluminescent cooling that we hope stimulate more discussion. Chen et al wrote, "…a light emitting diode (LED) at forward bias can be used as a cooling device that removes the entropy from its surrounding medium through electroluminescence that generates radiation to the far field."…”

“…However, Chen et al acknowledged that far field net electroluminescent cooling from a LED has not yet been demonstrated. 1 Thus, Chen et al have proposed that near field electroluminescence will be the key attribute for the realization of electroluminescent refrigeration. 1 Regardless of far or near field electroluminescence, we believe that there are some important issues that should be addressed first.…”

“…1 Thus, Chen et al have proposed that near field electroluminescence will be the key attribute for the realization of electroluminescent refrigeration. 1 Regardless of far or near field electroluminescence, we believe that there are some important issues that should be addressed first. For net electroluminescent cooling to take place in a LED, there should be net phonon absorption and the ability to overcome the inherent heat generation associated with electrical resistance, nonradiative recombination, and parasitic absorption in the device.…”